Uncovering what makes Project Managers unique

How did PMI-Montréal become the fourth largest chapter out of more than 280 PMI chapters worldwide? With over 5 300 members and growing, the Montreal chapter has always gone above and beyond the core services in order to promote best practices and engagement in the project management community.

In order to maintain these high standards and ensuring that all our members understand the value of being a member, it is important for us to understand our members and their needs.

At the end of 2018, PMI-Montréal sought out the services of a marketing agency to examine who are the professionals in project management and how can we better tailor our services to their current and future needs. Several personas were created according to personality types rather than common experience, because Project Managers are everywhere, realizing all types of projects across industries.

Uncovering their needs is a question of their aspirations, rather than one type of experience or education.

Join for the discounts, stay for the network

PMI-Montréal’s goal is to create a membership experience that will ensure that people who join the chapter for the certification course discount understand the value of being a part of the larger Project Management community.

Several actions have been put in place in order to determine what encourages members to stay.

A retention program aimed at offering new members the opportunity to discover the different facets of the association.

Create a sense of pride and participation in PMI-Montréal events by encouraging access to events for free or allowing new members to bring a friend to certain events.

Email confirmation of membership with survey of preferred services.

Personalisation of services

Every project professional’s story is unique. Whether you have a masters degree in project management or no education in project management, 25 years of experience or no experience at all, are an expert in transformation, new to Quebec, agilist, or creating a Project Office, regardless of industry: Construction, IT, or Event Planning, or just starting out exploring your options, recognizing this variety is important to us.

We are trying new service offerings to meet all this variety of needs :

Round table discussions for project management executives to help with identifying trends and share expertise in PMO integration.

Creating a student Collective to empower students in project management by creating social impact through a project.

Creating new events and services for young professionals. Students and the next generation of PMs have different needs than those further on in their career. Helping them make choices, finding opportunities for them to grow and be mentored is at the heart of PMI-Montréal core services.

Helping Je Fais Montréal to bring social projects to life in Montréal with our volunteers.

Not interested in certification? That’s ok too. One third of PMI-Montréal members are not certified and still participate actively in the community. It’s about sharing experiences and knowledge with all Project Managers regardless of certification status.

Reducing the white noise of email communication by ensuring that emails are tailored to members’ career plans. If you are already certified PMP, or need certain types of PDUs, these are the types of communications you will receive in the future.

A solid foundation

None of these goals are attainable without a solid back-office and administration. PMI-Montréal’s day to day is brought to life through the work of dedicated staff and volunteers.

Realizing many of our strategic goals means a new website for 2020! A Client Management System and Automated Marketing means better understanding of our members and tailored communications. Not to mention easing some of the administrative burdens by finding creative managements solutions that are flexible and adaptive to chapter growth.

Improving the quality of our online courses by replacing the video and audio equipment.

Improving how you communicate with PMI-Montréal! Whether by phone, email or text, making sure you can reach the right person for your question is a priority.

There is a lot to accomplish to ensure retention of existing members and attracting new ones to the community. PMI-Montréal members can play their part by sharing what they value about their membership with others and circulating upcoming events with their networks. The project management community is an inclusive one, and changes to our services will reflect that.

We strive to offer you the best service ever. And we want you to be proud of your chapter and be part of our community!